The invention relates in general to mortar systems and in particular to the mounting of digital fire control systems for mortar systems.
During firing of a mortar system, a mortar round is dropped into the top of a cannon and slides down until it hits a firing pin at the bottom. Impact with the firing pin ignites the propellant behind the projectile, creating tremendous pressures and ejecting the projectile out of the cannon. The large pressure forces react against the pressure vessel or cannon and translate into the baseplate, thereby forcing both the cannon and baseplate to move into the ground surface. This movement or burying effect into the ground is typical of all dismounted mortar systems.
During the above firing procedure, the bipod is responsible for supporting and stabilizing the cannon. This is done mostly with the buffer system. The buffer system uses springs to isolate or disconnect the firing forces away from the bipod itself. The buffer system allows the cannon and baseplate to move into the ground while maintaining stabilization of the bipod.
Digital fire control systems (DFCS) (for example, Honeywell's TALIN 3000 digital pointing device) may be used with some mortar systems, for example, 120 mm mortar systems. The extreme accelerations experienced by a mortar system during firing may damage sensitive DFCS components. In known mortar systems, the DFCS is mounted on the cannon, whether or not there is a mechanism for isolating the DFCS from large accelerations. In addition, when the DFCS is mounted directly to the cannon, it may be removed from the cannon in the event of a misfire or for hand transportation. The specific torque requirements for direct mounting may prevent the DFCS from being easily removed from the cannon.
Large mortar systems, such as a 120 mm mortar system, may be integrated into a tracked mortar carrier, such as the M1064 mortar carrier. Or, they may be integrated into a trailer or vehicle mount, such as the M326 Quick Stow trailer mount, and subsequently used in a dismounted fashion. The known DFCS mounts for the tracked mortar carrier and the trailer mount each have a different design and require different specifications for actual mounting to the cannon. Both DFCS mounts are attached directly to the cannon. The M326 Quick Stow DFCS mounting system includes an integrated isolation system (separate from the bipod isolation system) that is required to meet survivability criteria for dismounted or ground-mounted 120 mm mortar firing. On the other hand, the M1064 tracked mortar carrier DFCS mount does not require an additional isolation system.
The known mounting methods for mortar DFCS may be satisfactory for their individual platform. However, there is no single mounting method that may be used with both the M1064 and M326 platforms. In addition, neither method allows one to easily remove the fire control mounting hardware from the cannon after a misfire. Because both known mounting methods interface directly with cannon, those methods have precise torque requirements that if not adhered to, can disrupt the functionality of the cannon. Because the harshest firing environment is in the dismounted configuration, the M326 Quick Stow DFCS mount has a very large size and weight. The large size and weight of the mount are needed to meet the shock requirements for DFCS, but are otherwise very undesirable.
A need exists for an apparatus for mounting an electronics unit to a portion of a bipod that is not fixed for movement with a cannon.